Five men involved in an argument over a spilled drink in a Dublin pub which escalated into a riot needing 20 garda vehicles to attend have each received three-year suspended sentences.

Martin Mongan (39), of Mc Ulliam Park, Tallaght, and Simon Reilly (28), Anthony Reilly (25) and Patrick Reilly (23), all from Rathbride Demense, Co Kildare, also pleaded guilty to violent disorder at the pub on the same date.

anarchy

The men, who are all related to each other, caused more than €26,000 worth of damage after a wedding party in the pub.

Judge Martin Nolan said the men caused "12 minutes of mayhem, violence, aggression and anarchy" after Brian Mongan spilled a drink over his cousin Simon Reilly.

Mongan's cousin, Patrick, who intervened after Simon Reilly retaliated, was hit in the face with a glass by Brian Mongan, leading others to get involved.

Gda Brian Flynn arrived at the scene after the pub owner called to say there was a riot breaking out. Gda Flynn called for back-up after seeing 40 to 50 men and women fighting inside and outside the pub.

CCTV footage showed the five men fighting and throwing glasses, fire extinguishers, chairs and other furniture around the pub. The owners and staff hid in the back lounge and cellar during the incident.

Gda Flynn said the CCTV provided high quality images of each man's actions.

Andrew Reilly hit a middle-aged female relative with an armchair when he threw it from the balcony.

Patrick Reilly did more than €5,000 worth of damage when he threw two fire extinguishers across the pub which landed on a tiled floor and discharged.

Both men said they were acting in self-defence when interviewed by gardai after turning themselves in.

Martin Mongan went behind the bar to get more glasses from a sink when he had thrown all the items available to him on the bar. Brian Mongan threw a dozen glasses across the pub before throwing a chair into the crowd. Simon Reilly threw glasses, vases and picture frames.

Judge Nolan said the men appeared otherwise to be of good character and but they had acted "grossly reprehensibly".

He imposed three-year sentences on each of the five men but suspended them and ordered them to pass on the €8,700 they had raised in varying individual amounts to gardai who will pay it over to the owners of the Castle Inn.

The judge gave the men 12 months to come up with a further collective €5,400 for the pub owners.